TEST-RIDES- Please arrive at least an hour before closing if you're going to be test-riding a bike. If multiple test-rides might be required, allow at least 90 minutes. We need to set them up properly, the course we provide takes time to ride, and it takes time getting everything into the computer.
MASKS- Update 7/7/21 Fully-vaccinated customers will not be required to wear masks. If you are not vaccinated, you do. Curiously, even though our entire staff is fully vaccinated now, they are required to wear masks until June 17th, possibly later, as CalOSHA regulations for employees are still at odds with local & state guidance for customers. When masks are no longer required for fully-vaccinated employees, you may still request that the person assisting you wear a mask and we will happily accommodate you until the Covid-19 landscape becomes more clear.
We've moved! Visit our new location at 1680 El Camino Real, corner of Roosevelt, just two blocks south of our old home! We've got parking, a more-open & spacious layout, no stairs and the same friendly staff you've come to know over the years. And as you can see, we've got bikes! A good selection of Electra Lofts & Cruisers, a fantastic selection of Trek e-bikes, and getting more higher-end mountain bikes every week. Road bikes are slowly trickling in but in very small numbers; nearly everything is sold before it hits the floor. Please plan on ordering ahead to get what you want. Most hybrids are months away but a few show up by surprise. Kids bikes for 3-8 year olds are in very good shape. Mountain bikes below $1300 are still a rare find. A $100 completely-refundable deposit reserves the next unsold bike for you!
Repairs (updated 7/7)- Our repair department is basically closed* to new business until sometime in August. Why? Many repair parts have become unavailable, 100s of bikes ordered for customer 6-12 months ago are finally showing up, and another shop went out of business. *Exceptions- flat tires and bikes with CRCARE (included with all bikes sold by us). Other than CRCARE, we won't be scheduling appointments until things settle. We recognize the severe inconvenience this places upon many of our customers. Covid-19 has bit us in the butt, hard.
If you need a major repair quickly, we note that Velofix, a mobile repair service, still has very short lead times (roughly two weeks, minimum $100). For road bikes $1500+, VelOro in Redwood City can take care of you pretty quickly too. He does not work on anything other than road bikes though, and only modern, more-expensive bikes.
How and when to reach us- The priority will be to those who are already at or inside our store. If you can't get through, try calling back 30 minutes later or send an email to bikes@chainreaction.com and we'll do our best to get back to you later that day. Our busiest times are the first hour we're open, especially Mondays & Tuesdays. 3-4:30pm each day is another peak time on weekdays, and 2-4pm Saturdays.
Thank you from our staff, Kevin & Lexi & Becky & Christopher & Don & Sonia & Rolando & Roger & Jose & Mike & Steve & Karen & River.
(Updated 06/01/20) GETTING YOUR NEW BIKE- OUR SECRET WEAPON! Most everyone knows bikes are in short supply by now; KCBS came by to do a news story featuring us. We have 1300 bikes on backorder right now. Just our single shop. 1300 bikes scheduled to arrive between now and 2023. We work with Trek daily, studying availability dates and creating a list that shows which bikes are coming in, and when. If anything's changed, Becky and Karen send emails with the updated status, often more than 50 in one session. Sometimes they get to make people really happy and tell them their new bike is coming in sooner than expected! And sometimes they have to deliver the bad news that delays at the port in Long Beach have added a week or two to the delivery time.
One thing is absolute. Once you place an order with Chain Reaction, nobody gets to cut in line in front of you, and, if someone changes to a different model, everyone else in line for that bike moves up one place. This means you never have to worry that a bike might come in that you want but somebody else snags it. You place an order, once, and we do the hard part.
